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Jailed child-abuse suspect reported pregnant

A Clifton woman suspected of inflicting multiple injuries on a young girl, including burning the child’s abdomen with a heated knife, is pregnant, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Public Defender Matt Kellond said 39-year-old Dianeth Pittman described her pregnancy as “high-risk” with undisclosed issues about the health of the unborn baby.

“The concern we have is she may not be getting the highest quality care in jail,” Kellond told a judge.

The disclosure appeared to surprise District Attorney Pete Hautzinger, who said Pittman may face additional charges beyond two felonies.

“I’m not thrilled to hear she’s pregnant, given what she did to this child,” Hautzinger said.

County Court Judge Bruce Raaum ordered Pittman held at the Mesa County Jail on $150,000 bond. Pittman is serving probation because of a 2010 domestic-violence case. According to court records, she has misdemeanor convictions stemming from a 2008 theft case and possession of drug paraphernalia from 2010.

Pittman was arrested Monday on a Mesa County Sheriff’s Department warrant on suspicion of two counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.

An arrest warrant affidavit said Pittman, who lives at 463 Topaz Drive, Unit B, originally told deputies early in the investigation that the injured child had been struck by another child with a Barbie play-barbecue pit.

Pittman changed her story, telling deputies she caused the injuries after tripping the girl out of anger after arguing with her husband over the phone. Investigators later learned the child told someone Pittman tripped her and also slammed her to the floor, jerked her up by the arms and slammed her face against a wall several times, the affidavit said.

The girl also said Pittman burned the child’s abdomen with a heated knife on two occasions before the May incident.

Pittman will be formally charged May 17 before District Judge Brian Flynn.